Light weight folding bike for a lady

[Sarah77]

Hi there

I am a female (not very fit really) looking for a light weight ebike. I am new to ebike world, and had no experience on all kinds of spec. etc. So your help will be very appreciated.
I live in a hilly town, coummute distance to work is rather short (less than 10 miles in total) but hilly.
I did a lot of research but I cannot really find what I am looking for, any suggestion please.
First I ordered Halfords Coyote Connect Folding Electric, but then I cannot lift in / out of the car (very heavy) so I had to return it, and I got Dahon vitesse folding bike which I am very happy with but yet it is not electric and I have to go off the bike on every hill.

I am flexible on budget however going over £1000 means the bike will be more attractive for theif given that I want to leave it outside when I go to my office.


It seems that it is diffcult to find lightweight ebike, so what I found so far

Cyclotricity Wallet Folding Electric bike < 17kg. cost £899
Tesco hopper eclub folding electric bike about 19kg cost £450-500 (I found out that this may be less powerful but can still do hills?)
halfords coyote commute electric bike about 19kg cost at the moment £640
kudos secret about 19kg cost £765
woosh bikes are much heavier (and not the prettiest so I exclude them from the list)

I thought about conversion kit however as I have no idea about ebike I will not be able to do it myself and it seems very expensive, but I am open to suggestion if it will offer me the more efficient and light weight I am looking for.
Need your help.

Thank you

 

[Angelnorth]

Hello Sarah77, welcome!

As you're finding out, "lightweight" and "e-bike" is not really a combination you find at anything like a budget price (carbon frames might be different but way out of the casual user's budget!).

How often do you need to get the bike in and out of the car? If you're wanting to leave it outside when you go to work you're presumably not doing a combination car/bike commute?

Could you solve the problem a different way, perhaps? I'm wondering if something like one of those doggy ramps would let you wheel a folded bike up into the car without having to worry about its weight. (ETA: assuming a bike that can be wheeled when folded - not all can, I don't think.)

 

[Kudoscycles]

Sarah...I must have done a very bad marketing job...It sounds to me that our new K16 e-bike would be perfect for you.
It weighs 15kg
It is very powerful,the small wheels have a very powerful torque reaction.
It folds very quickly.
It has a 10,4 Ah battery,good for 30 plus miles range.
It has a dual height seatpost accomodating 5-6 ft riders.
Priced £735.00,incl vat and delivery.
Colours...Black,White,Lime Green,Pink.
It was originally developed for a lady,Cathy,who had a short but difficult journey to work...it involved 3 miles to the railway,one stop on the train,then 4 miles to her work....she manages the journey in about 1 hour now,door to door.
Good luck.
KudosDave

 

[Sarah77]

Thanks Anglenorth, I would like to be able to folded in / out of the car occasionally but also smoothly.

KudosDave, thanks, yes I looked at K16 but I was not sure how small SINGLE gear can do steep hills?

Sarah

 

[Kudoscycles]

Thanks Anglenorth, I would like to be able to folded in / out of the car occasionally but also smoothly.

KudosDave, thanks, yes I looked at K16 but I was not sure how small SINGLE gear can do steep hills?

Sarah

The K16 carries my 100 kgs up steep hills with only the single gear. It can do that because it was designed to be a powerful bike up to 15 mph,it has a small chainring and the motor in the 16" wheels has a strong torque reaction.
The K16 was designed to be nippy in an urban situation,but the pedal cadence will be high if you are always going fast....to keep the weigh(15kg)t light allowing it to be easily carried on a bus or train you have to compromise on some details.
The K16 has such powerful acceleration that we did consider at one point reducing the power but riders soon get used to the power,you will have no problem climbing steep hills.
In contrast the Kudos Secret has the same motor,but the motor is inside 20" wheels so the torque reaction is lower, however it has gears with a larger chainring so you can change gears to change the rider torque and have a lower pedal cadence at speed,this does however add 3kg to the weight (total 18kg)so it's not so easy to lift on a bus or train.
The K16 and Secret have clearly defined uses,you do have to be careful to look at what you want the usage of the bike and select the one to do your job.
Both bikes have the same 10,4 Ah battery which will give 30-40 mile range.
Hope that helps,you do need to try a bike,you will soon realise which one is right for you,both bikes are selling very well at the moment,the green colour is very popular.
KudosDave

 

[anotherkiwi]

You have a lovely folder already, my vote is a kit. You don't need a huge battery to do your commute. 12.5 kg + 2.5 kg motor = 15 kg because you can take the battery off before lifting it into the car.

 

[Sarah77]

Hello Sarah77, welcome!

As you're finding out, "lightweight" and "e-bike" is not really a combination you find at anything like a budget price (carbon frames might be different but way out of the casual user's budget!).

How often do you need to get the bike in and out of the car? If you're wanting to leave it outside when you go to work you're presumably not doing a combination car/bike commute?

Could you solve the problem a different way, perhaps? I'm wondering if something like one of those doggy ramps would let you wheel a folded bike up into the car without having to worry about its weight. (ETA: assuming a bike that can be wheeled when folded - not all can, I don't think.)

Hi Anglenorth

If the weight is not the only factor, would you recommend any of the bike above, or simething totally different?
Thanks

 

[Sarah77]

The K16 carries my 100 kgs up steep hills with only the single gear. It can do that because it was designed to be a powerful bike up to 15 mph,it has a small chainring and the motor in the 16" wheels has a strong torque reaction.
The K16 was designed to be nippy in an urban situation,but the pedal cadence will be high if you are always going fast....to keep the weigh(15kg)t light allowing it to be easily carried on a bus or train you have to compromise on some details.
The K16 has such powerful acceleration that we did consider at one point reducing the power but riders soon get used to the power,you will have no problem climbing steep hills.
In contrast the Kudos Secret has the same motor,but the motor is inside 20" wheels so the torque reaction is lower, however it has gears with a larger chainring so you can change gears to change the rider torque and have a lower pedal cadence at speed,this does however add 3kg to the weight (total 18kg)so it's not so easy to lift on a bus or train.
The K16 and Secret have clearly defined uses,you do have to be careful to look at what you want the usage of the bike and select the one to do your job.
Both bikes have the same 10,4 Ah battery which will give 30-40 mile range.
Hope that helps,you do need to try a bike,you will soon realise which one is right for you,both bikes are selling very well at the moment,the green colour is very popular.
KudosDave

Thanks KudosDave, I will look if there is any local shop stock them so I csn try both. I am not really going to use bus or train with my bike, I only want to be able to lift it in/off my car occasionally. thank you very much

 

[Sarah77]

You have a lovely folder already, my vote is a kit. You don't need a huge battery to do your commute. 12.5 kg + 2.5 kg motor = 15 kg because you can take the battery off before lifting it into the car.

Thanks Anotherkiwi
This sound great if really possible (and in reasonable price), I notice kits may cost £500-£700 which is a price of a new bike. I must admit I am in love with my Dahon (very nice and easy to ride). Any suggestion for good kit? As I mention I do not need a huge battery, need it only for short commute but powerful enought to do the hills. Thank you

 

[anotherkiwi]

Yes it is another £600+ but your pedelec is a Dahon Vitesse which you are already comfortable with and like. The extra weight will change how it feels but you won't be in completely new territory when it comes to folding etc.

If it was mine I would put this on it http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?cdkit with the small battery.

 

[Angelnorth]

Hi Anglenorth

If the weight is not the only factor, would you recommend any of the bike above, or simething totally different?
Thanks

I'm afraid I have no experience at all of folders Sarah. Like KudosDave I'd advocate trying anything you think you might be interested in and anotherkiwi's suggestion of taking the kit route is interesting as it would let you stick with a bike you know you like riding. You can always take a battery off a bike before you lift it which will make it lighter by 2-3kg.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Thanks KudosDave, I will look if there is any local shop stock them so I csn try both. I am not really going to use bus or train with my bike, I only want to be able to lift it in/off my car occasionally. thank you very much

The Secret is probably ideal for you,we have some ex demo Secrets priced at £595.00. I sold 2 today,some of these have only done 10 miles,black colour.
KudosDave

 

[Sarah77]

Yes it is another £600+ but your pedelec is a Dahon Vitesse which you are already comfortable with and like. The extra weight will change how it feels but you won't be in completely new territory when it comes to folding etc.

If it was mine I would put this on it http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?cdkit with the small battery.

thanks Anotherkiwi, wooshbikes seems to have all large battery but I will look around. thanks again

 

[Sarah77]

I'm afraid I have no experience at all of folders Sarah. Like KudosDave I'd advocate trying anything you think you might be interested in and anotherkiwi's suggestion of taking the kit route is interesting as it would let you stick with a bike you know you like riding. You can always take a battery off a bike before you lift it which will make it lighter by 2-3kg.

Thanks Anglenorth for your help. it seems looking for the prefect ebike not an easy task. thanks

 

[Sarah77]

The Secret is probably ideal for you,we have some ex demo Secrets priced at £595.00. I sold 2 today,some of these have only done 10 miles,black colour.
KudosDave

Do you also sell ex demo K16? how you can buy or ask for more information. thank you

 

[Sarah77]

Hi all, thanks all for your help. I found a very light ebike only 10kg, I was wondering if anybody try it before or even heard about it, it costs about £1000.


Vlec Pocket Plus Electric Bike
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductMobileDisplay?catalogId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=211566&productId=1300870&storeId=10001

 

[Cricket]

Hi all, thanks all for your help. I found a very light ebike only 10kg, I was wondering if anybody try it before or even heard about it, it costs about £1000.


Vlec Pocket Plus Electric Bike
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductMobileDisplay?catalogId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=211566&productId=1300870&storeId=10001

Hi Sarah,
The 10kg weight is very impressive but according to the spec it has a 24v battery & 160w motor (rather than the more commonplace 36v battery & 250w motor) so you'd want to check it could manage a 10 mile hilly commute and give you all the power you require. I don't know that particular bike but I have a folding bike with a 24v battery (albeit with a 250w motor) and the battery drains very quickly. Suits me as I only use it for a spin in the park but if you are relying on it getting you to work & up lots of hills then that might be a different matter...

 

[Kudoscycles]

Do you also sell ex demo K16? how you can buy or ask for more information. thank you

Sarah....sorry the K16 is very new,too new to have ex demo bikes....if you don't want to often lift it onto a bus or train then the Secret would be a better all round bike for you.
I am happy to send a demo Secret up to you,have a test ride,if you don't like it I will collect it for a carriage cost of £10. This will give you a chance to have a proper test ride over the terrain that you intend,please clean it if you decide to return it.
I only have 2 ex demo Secrets left,both black colour @ £595.00.
Have to be careful about knocking the opposition but these very lightweight bikes often have tiny wheels and no power....I sat on one at the Shanghai cycle show,it felt a toy under me,when I turned the throttle it made an electric noise but didn't move,the tiny 45kg girl jumped on it but it was still not powerful,I couldn't believe anyone would do 10 miles on that bike.
If you don't mind me saying you have to buy a bike that will do your job and you are going to feel comfortable riding it for 10 miles,you are not going to learn anything from reading weights/specs,you need to try one.
KudosDave

 

[Kudoscycles]

Hi all, thanks all for your help. I found a very light ebike only 10kg, I was wondering if anybody try it before or even heard about it, it costs about £1000.


Vlec Pocket Plus Electric Bike
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductMobileDisplay?catalogId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=211566&productId=1300870&storeId=10001

Sarah,I know that bike very well,it looks similar to one of the bikes we reviewed prior to manufacturing the K16,it has the magnetic drive motor which looks the same as the bike I sat on at Shanghai.
The biggest problem we found was to remove the battery you had to disconnect and remove the front light,remove the forks then hook the strap to pull out the battery,it was a 30 min job,even for a skilled engineer...the manufacturer wouldn't make changes to this, so for us it was a non starter,it was a very cheap bike in China. Ask Halfords how you remove the battery,they may have changed the system.
Some of these bikes look similar but the devil is in the detail,it is the detail that is important in usage.
KudosDave

 

[gray198]

Sarah....sorry the K16 is very new,too new to have ex demo bikes....if you don't want to often lift it onto a bus or train then the Secret would be a better all round bike for you.
I am happy to send a demo Secret up to you,have a test ride,if you don't like it I will collect it for a carriage cost of £10. This will give you a chance to have a proper test ride over the terrain that you intend,please clean it if you decide to return it.
I only have 2 ex demo Secrets left,both black colour @ £595.00.
Have to be careful about knocking the opposition but these very lightweight bikes often have tiny wheels and no power....I sat on one at the Shanghai cycle show,it felt a toy under me,when I turned the throttle it made an electric noise but didn't move,the tiny 45kg girl jumped on it but it was still not powerful,I couldn't believe anyone would do 10 miles on that bike.
If you don't mind me saying you have to buy a bike that will do your job and you are going to feel comfortable riding it for 10 miles,you are not going to learn anything from reading weights/specs,you need to try one.
KudosDave

Nice offer KudosDave, to send one to try